Agriculture
South Africa is not only completely self-sufficient in agricultural products, but is one of only six countries in the world that is able to export agricultural products on a regular basis. This is despite the fact that only less than half of the country is suitable for agriculture, which accounts for one tenth of the country’s total exports.
The main sectors of the agricultural sector are livestock and farming. The main crops are sugarcane and cereals (corn, wheat, barley, oats), pulses, tobacco, and fruits.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal is the main sugar cane cultivation area. Various citrus fruits and grapes, apples, pears, peaches, bananas, and pineapples are grown in various locations along the coastal strip. Sugar and fruit in a very wide range are exported.
The main livestock industry in South Africa is sheep breeding of wool direction. This sector plays a prominent role in the country’s exports. South Africa has one of the leading positions in the capitalist world in wool girth.The total number of cattle is 13.5 million. It produces 570 thousand tons of meat products. In recent years ostrich farming has been developing.
Energy
Energy is the mainstay of the South African economy which generates about 15% of GDP. The main component of South Africa’s energy sector is coal. Factors such as the large number of coal deposits and the special conditions of coal deposits that make it easily available for mining and processing are the reason that the cost of energy in this country is one of the lowest in the world.
South Africa, as the center of the Southern African Power System, generates 2/3 of all the electric power of the continent and ranks 16th in the world in power consumption. Its sources of electricity are 20 coal-fired power plants. All of them are owned by the state-owned company ESCOM.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the biggest productive sector of South Africa’s economy, accounting for 18% of GDP. Metallurgy plays an important role in the manufacturing industry. The largest industry is the iron and steel industry. Five mills, the largest of which in Saldanha Bay, are owned by the private ISCOR Corporation.
The nonferrous industry is represented by almost all nonferrous plants – from copper, antimony and chrome to rare-earth elements. South Africa is the world’s number one producer of ferrochrome alloys. Three manganese producers are also of world importance. The country annually produces over 6 million tons of iron and over 6 million tons of steel. There are several copper smelting plants in the areas of copper deposits.
Small amounts of aluminum and zinc are also produced. Most of the metals are exported, but domestic consumption is growing as a result of the creation of the metal, electrical and automotive industries.
Machine building .
The powerful backbone of this sector of the economy is represented by automotive companies owned by major foreign corporations, such as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Toyota, and others. In total, there are more than 30 companies in the country, which produce more than 1,000 varieties of cars. The car-assembly enterprises are mainly located in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria. These are the centers of automobile industry.
Due to the development of this industry, South Africa has the largest number of cars on the continent and is one of the twenty countries in the world in terms of the number of cars per capita. In addition, South Africa has a number of enterprises for the production of sea and river boats, railway cars and locomotives, aircraft, parts and some special appliances.
Mining
Much of South Africa’s deposits are unique in terms of the condition and scale of the resources. South Africa’s main land wealth is gold and diamonds. It was the discovery of the gold deposits in 1886 in the Witwatersrand (Gauteng Province) that laid the foundation of the mining industry, which marked a turning point in the history of the country and led to what is now the industrialized state of South Africa. South Africa produces up to 700-800 tons of gold annually. In terms of its value South Africa remains in first place in the capitalist world.
By reserves and production of diamonds. South Africa also ranks first in the world. In particular, South Africa ranks second in the world after the Republic of Zaire in terms of the total weight of diamonds mined. However, South Africa ranks first in terms of the value of diamonds, as the larger stones that can be used in jewelry production are mined here.